Versus
by Cap55
Summary: Tony is kneeling on the ground, facing an opponent he never thought he would ever have to go against. Even with his armor, his flight advantage, and all his weaponry, he knows this fight is not going to be an easy win. Hell, there is a good chance he'll lose, but he's got to try. Everything hinges on him winning for both him and the man he has to fight: Captain America. Rated T
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is the latest story in my Steve and Tony bromance obsession! All sections in italics are Tony's own thoughts inside his always chatty mind. Enjoy! **

**Versus. - Chapter 1**

_Shit. How the hell am I going to get out of this one? I swear, these things only happen to me. _

Tony is kneeling on the ground, facing down an opponent he never thought he would ever have to go against. Even with his armor, his advantage of flight, and all his weaponry he knows this fight is not going to be an easy win. Hell, there is a good chance he might even lose, but he's got to try. Everything hinges on him winning for both him and the man he has to fight: Captain America.

_You're probably wondering how this all happened. Let's rewind to yesterday for a moment since I am not loving this moment right now. _

_Twenty-four hours ago, Steve and I were flying out on a mission together. It was supposed to be a quick, easy mission. No super criminals with a screw loose, no high profile targets to protect, no world-ending threats. Just a basic 'get-in-get-out' mission to get confirmation on some intel SHIELD had received on a potentially dangerous drug-cartel based in the Sierra Madre mountain range in Mexico. As soon as I heard "Mexico" I was in. I figured we spy on a bunch of druggies, report said druggies to Fury, boom, I'm drinking tequila on the beach. Imagine my surprise when we fly into this God-forsaken mountain range where the temperature is below zero and it's snowing. SNOWING. In Mexico. What the hell? _

_ Steve was more mission focused than Mexico focused - as usual. The man couldn't relax if his life depended on it. The intel stated that the cartel was preparing to move a 1-ton shipment of cocaine into the states. According to Captain-Do-Gooder, and I quote, 'to stop that amount of drugs from entering the US would be a big blow to the Cartel. It's an opportunity we can't pass up," and he wanted in. _

_ Steve and I had flown into the secluded area that the intel had indicated the cartel was holed up. Old fashioned as he is, Steve had parachuted in and I, being awesome, flew in with my armor. With how protective and secretive these cartels are, stealth was critical in this mission. Steve had that smirk he gets when he thinks he's being funny and said sending me in might have been a mistake. Always sooooo hilarious. _

The two men land on the ground and begin to move in toward the base.

"This is so not the Mexico I was picturing when I agreed to this mission," Tony grumbles. "What the hell is this? Snow? Snow and below zero weather in freakin' Mexico."

"We're in the Sierra Madre mountains in November, Tony," Steve points out, ignoring Tony's frustration. "It's cold. Not everywhere in Mexico is tropical."

"The good parts are," Tony pouts. "Not a single tiki bar in sight. It's a damn shame."

"I'll make a deal with you," Steve smirks. "Make it through this mission without flying off on some half-baked, screwball, get-us-all-killed plan and I will let you in on my secret beer stash at the Tower."

"What? Captain America doesn't drink," Tony points out, shocked.

"Captain America can't get _drunk_, but he most certainly can drink. I've got a stash of beer that Bucky and I used to drink back in the day. Found the brewery after wandering around town after I woke up. Not many people know about it, but it's the best brew around."

"It's disturbing when you refer to yourself in the third person, but you drive a hard bargain. Deal, Captain Morgan."

The two men dodge Cartel members patrolling the perimeter of the compound and eventually get a visual on the entrance. It's guarded. Heavily. Tony's pretty sure he saw a tank lurking around the corner.

"We need to find another way in," Steve whispers while he surveys the scene.

"JARVIS?"

"Sir, I am detecting a possible entry point approximately 200 yards north of your current position."

"Lead the way, JARVIS," Tony orders and the A.I. projects the map on Tony's Hud. They follow the map to the entry point and it's not exactly what either of them were expecting.

"What the hell is this, JARVIS?" Tony stares sideways at the hole that's in front of him.

"An entry point, Sir."

"I was hoping we could at least walk through it."

It'll have to do," Steve dives straight in, wasting no time. "It's our only option."

"Cap! What are you doing? You don't know what's in that hole! There could be vermin! Or ghosts!" Tony calls into the hole.

"You don't believe in ghosts, Tony," Steve yells, his voice barely audible from deep inside the tunnel.

"No, but I do believe in giant, disease carrying rats!" Tony snaps back, but there's no answer or sympathy from Steve. "I forgot how much covert missions suck,"

_What the hell...I am crawling through a disgusting, tiny, hole in the ground, following Captain What-Ever-It-Takes into who-knows-where and I'm not even on a beach. _

The hole is dark, dirty, and down right miserable, but they crawl and wriggle their way through. A couple spots got real tight and Tony thought for sure they were going to get stuck, but Steve is determined. Tony doesn't even want to think about how long we were in the rocky, God-forsaken tunnel, but they finally broke through into an air shaft and made it into the base. They find cover just in time to avoid a couple Cartel members running down the hall. Another man intercepts them and starts to speak to them in Spanish.

"What are they saying?" Tony asks.

"Shhhhh," Steve orders.

"Did you just 'shush' me?" Tony frowns, thoroughly offended.

"Shhhh!" Steve repeats.

"I can't believe I just got shushed. Twice."

"They're talking about moving the drugs out tonight. Something about their boss wanting to move out ahead of schedule."

The men move along and Tony and Steve venture deeper into the base and find themselves overlooking the main part of the cavern. The base is huge and far more sophisticated than a normal drug cartel. The cavern they're working out of is massive. It looks like they walked in from a desolate mountain range and down into a huge factory straight out of a big city. There are Cartel members running around like ants on the floor below, frantically measuring, packing, and boxing up drugs. More men guard the perimeter and are heavily armed with some serious fire power. It's obvious that this is much more than a small drug operation.

"This is bigger than we could ever have imagined, Tony," Steve whispers while he stares down the scene below. "There's got to be at least 3-tons of drugs down there and I'm guessing these guys aren't going to just let us walk in there and take it away from them. We're going to need back up."

"No time," Tony whispers back. "These guys are getting ready to move out. We need to stop this."

"Tony…"

_Steve gives me that look that I am all too familiar with. It's the look that tells me I'm being impulsive and reckless and I'm about to get a lecture. I really hate that look_.

"We need to report back to Fury. Our primary mission is to gather intel and I'm pretty sure this counts as intel."

"By the time we climb back out that tunnel and report into Fury it might be too late."

"Fury said not to engage the enemy."

"Fury says a lot of things."

"Tony…."

"Shhhhh," Tony hisses.

"Seriously, Tony? Are you..."

"Shhhhh!" Tony hisses again and Steve pinches the bridge of his nose, frustrated. "See? Not so fun being shushed, is it?"

"Do you have a point?" Steve sighs.

"If we give these guys anymore time we're going to lose them and these drugs will flood the streets. Besides, we've got this, Cap. Those guys don't stand a chance against just me, let alone the two of us…but mostly me…because I'm awesome…"

_I can't help but smile when I get the other look from Steve that I always get. It's the look that tells me I'm annoying him. I love that look. It means I'm doing my job. I wonder if Steve knows how easy it is to rile him up and how entertaining it is for me. I can see the frustration fade into acceptance and I know he's seeing things my way. _

"Fine," Steve grunts. "But if we do this we do it smart. We need some sort of plan if we're going to get out of this alive."

_I could see the wheels turning in Steve's mind as he surveyed the scene. The master Tactician and Strategist is doing his thing. Except a lot of good your tactical skills turned out to be, Cap. Okay, maybe I'm being harsh, but you know what? It's hard to not be harsh when you're facing down a shield that you've seen break bones and cut through steel. But I'm getting ahead of myself. _

_ Steve had come up with a good plan. Execution needed some work, but it was a good plan. Cap made his way down to the garage to disable the trucks by cutting the gas lines to the engines to keep any of the drugs from leaving. My job was to place charges at a few key, weight-bearing walls of the base. After we each finished with our jobs we would meet up on the way to the helipad and escape, easy-peasy. _

_ Everything had been going well until the final part of the plan: escaping. There was no way either one of us could have known what we were in for. _

"Did you place all the charges?" Steve asks as he runs down the hall and Tony comes along side him from a connecting hall.

"Each one is ready to go," Tony pants. "The trucks?"

"Aren't going anywhere soon," Steve smirks.

"Going somewhere gentlemen?" a voice calls from behind them.

"Just leaving. Don't worry, we'll show ourselves out," Tony snaps as he and Steve slowly turn round to face who's busted them. "Well shit," Tony sighs when he sees who is standing behind them. "Zebediah Kilgrave. What the hell are you doing here? Drugs aren't your deal."

"They _used_ to not be my deal," Kilgrave answers as a smile cracks across his face. "That was before I realized what i was missing out on. And please, call me Purple Man."

"I hate to tell you this, but your mind control pheromone doesn't work on us, _Zebediah_. Between the high-tech air purification system in my armor and Cap's 'Stubborn-Ass' level of iron will power, we've got you beat."

"I'm well aware of that. It is rather inconvenient that the two of you decided to show up, but I am not concerned," Kilgrave continues to smile his crooked smile.

"Really? Because you should be," Steve grabs the man by the collar of his shirt and slams him against the wall.

"Now you've gone and done it," Tony leans casually against the wall with his arms crossed. "You just made him mad."

"Please put me down, Captain," Kilgrave calmly requests.

"Still doesn't work, Kilgrave. Your powers are useless," Steve glares, but the smile never leaves Kilgrave's face.

_I've seen that glare make grown men wet themselves, but Kilgrave looks like he's just won the lottery. This isn't good. He's up to something. _

"Well then, let's try something else," Kilgrave holds up his wrist and before either one of them can act, a fine powder sprays into the air. Steve takes the brunt of the spray and he drops Zebediah and collapses to his knees, coughing and gasping desperately for air."

"Cap!" Tony rushes over and puts himself between Steve and Purple Man. "What the hell did you do to him?"

"I'm testing my new product before it hits the streets. Lets see if it will work against your friends so-called 'iron will.' What do you say, Captain? Are you ready to play?" Tony turns to see Steve has recovered and is standing behind him. Any recognition or cognizance is gone from his eyes.

"Cap?" Tony backs up a step. "Hey, are you still with me?"

"He's not. He's with me now," Kilgrave laughs. "Captain, please dispose of our guest. It's time for us to go." Steve swings his fist at Tony with lightning speed. Tony dodges it, but just barely. Steve's fist slams into the wall, sending a spider web of cracks radiating out through the stone.

_Whoa, that was close. Steve doesn't hit things that hard, not even the bad guys. He's not holding anything back and he doesn't recognize me. This is bad. This is very, very bad. _

Steve rushes at Tony again, tackling him around his waist and driving him into the ground. He's able to shift his weight and get his boots under Steve's midsection and kicks him off, sending him flying back down the hall. Steve catches himself and lands on his feet, skidding back across the floor before he quickly regroups and flips in the air, throwing his shield with all of his forward momentum.

_Graceful bastard…You could at least have the decency to fall or trip or break a sweat. _

Tony dives to the side, just narrowly avoiding the shield at it slices through the air and lodges itself halfway into the concrete wall behind him.

"Shit Steve! Snap out of it! That thing could have taken my damn head off!" Tony stares back at the shield lodged in the wall before he turns to see Steve's fist before he connects. Hard. Tony is sent reeling to the floor and he tries to shake the stars from his vision, but Steve is on him before he has a chance to recover. He pins him to the ground and reaches up to his shield in the wall, removing it easily like it was lodged in jello and not concrete. He raises the shield, ready to strike the finishing blow.

"Finish it!" Kilgrave orders and moves in closer.

_I can see Steve press his eyes closed and grit his teeth. Sweat is dripping down his face from behind his mask. He's fighting. Come on Captain-Stubborn-Ass, use that will power!_

"Do it!" Kilgrave screams again. Steve hesitates, but only for a moment. Tony closes his eyes as Steve drives his shield down toward Tony's head. The shield rings out as it's drilled into its target.

_Oh God. Am I dead? I'm pretty sure I'm dead. Damn it, Steve! What the hell?!" _

Tony finally brings himself to peel his eyes open and sees Steve's shield, inches from his head, drilled into the ground up to where Steve's fist fits into the strap.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't you?" Tony pants and stares at the weapon that nearly killed him before he turns to Steve. He's still pinning him to the ground, but not as aggressively as before.

"Tony…Run…." Steve winces as he fights against Kilgrave's control. His face is twisted and sweaty and his whole body is tense.

"Steve…" Tony scrambles out from under him and onto his feet, not wanting to waste the precious time Steve is buying him.

"What are you doing? Kill him!" Kilgrave spits as he stands behind Steve.

_God, there's nothing more I'd rather do right now that punch that ass-wipe right in his stupid, purple face. _

"Go!…Get out of here!" Steve orders as he rips his shield out of the ground. His movements are slow and shaky. He's fighting against his mind and body's will to follow Kilgrave's orders, but he can't completely resist. Not when Kilgrave is in such close proximity on top of whatever the powder was he was exposed to earlier.

"I'll be back. I'm not leaving without you, Steve!" Tony promises as he rockets down the hall away from the two men. He feels Steve's shield graze his shoulder before it bounces off the wall and back to him.

_Shit. That was lucky. He held back. If he hadn't I'd be short an arm right now. Don't worry, Cap. I'm coming for you. _

Steve falls back down to his knees after Tony is safely out of sight. His hands bracing him up off the floor and his vision blurring. The room feels like it's tipping and his breathing is coming in ragged breaths. He can feel his body shaking. He's completely exhausted, but he focuses what's left of the strength into fighting Kilgrave's control.

"I'm disappointed in you, Captain. You've gone and ruined my fun," Kilgrave circles around Steve, undaunted by the fight that just happened.

"So sorry to disappoint," Steve grunts.

"I'm sure you are, but don't worry. I have a plan to help us make sure we have more fun next time."

"I'll fight you next time too, Kilgrave," Steve promises through gritted teeth. "I won't let you control me."

"I would expect nothing less, Captain, but you won't have a choice. You are going to help me take care of your Iron friend before he can disrupt my plans any further." Steve feels a sharp stab go into the side of his neck before he collapses onto his side. His vision flickers in and out and with each blink, Kilgrave lurks closer until he's kneeling in front of him.

"I have big plans for you, Captain." He smiles and Steve's world goes dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**Versus - Chapter 2**

"JARVIS," Tony pants after he finds a place to lay low. "I need all the info we have on Kilgrave."

"Zebediah Kilgrave, A.K.A. The Purple Man developed his powers after being doused by an unknown, experimental chemical. Abilities include increased healing factor and mind control via a pheromone-like substance when inhaled. Mind control is much stronger when in close proximity or direct contact with the subject." Tony paces while he listens to JARVIS, but freezes when he looks down at his armor to see a fine layer of powder coating him.

"JARVIS, analyze the powder coating the armor."

"Running analysis. Substance consists of a concentrated form of the Purple Man's pheromone combined with an unknown narcotic."

Tony runs his fingers over his arm, collecting a small sample of the powder on his finger tips. "So this stuff not only gives you a punch of mind control pheromone, it also screws with your brain." Tony rubs his finger tips together, studying the powder.

"In a nutshell, Sir."

"If you perception and cognizance is weakened you don't have much hope of being able to focus and fight against a mind-control pheromone. If it works that well against Captain America, I don't want to know what it will do to large numbers of normal people."

"If the drug were to make it out to the public, it would amplify his powers exponentially, Sir."

"We can't let that happen. We have to stop him, but we're going to have to get past Cap."

"Statistically, the odds are not in your favor, Sir."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, JARVIS. I'm the one who made you and you're putting your vote on a man who can barely work the microwave?"

"With all due respect, Sir, Captain America is highly proficient in Krav Maga, Mixed Martial Arts, Kung Fu, Jujitsu, Taekwando, and is a 10th degree black belt in Karate. He is also highly trained tactician, battle strategist and is in peak physical condition with super human strength, endurance, senses and healing factor. Need I go on, Sir?"

"No. I know Cap is a bad ass, but I'm not exactly helpless here. I've got you, the suit that's armed to the hilt with weapons that would be enough to take down a small army, as well as my awesomeness and genius. Between the three of us we're going to have to find a way to take Cap down without hurting him…or him hurting us."

"Forgive me for saying, Sir, but we may be screwed."

"Maybe, but we've got to try. Send a distress signal to the Avengers and tell them to get their asses over here ASAP. We're going to need all the help we can get. We're on our own until then."

**OOOOOOOOOO **

Steve jerks awake and is confused to find that he can't move. He blinks a few times, trying to clear his vision and find his bearings through his grogginess. No matter how many times he blinks the room still looks like it's distorted. Like he's looking through a funhouse mirror. He looks around and tries to get up, but his arms are strapped tightly to the table. His eyes catch sight of a metal box strapped to his chest. The box is connected to a mask that covers the lower half of his face. The box is strapped over his uniform so tightly that Steve can hardly breath and the mask is cutting into his face. Steve struggles against the restraints, but he feels so weak and his body is heavy and laden.

"Relax, Captain," Kilgrave walks by when he notices Steve stirring. "Save your strength. We just needed you a bit more..cooperative. You will be released in a moment."

"What…what did you do to me?" Steve pants, suddenly aware of how difficult it is to breath with the mask on his face.

"The side effects of the drug can be disorienting, but you will adjust with time. You should feel honored. You were just the first test subject of my new creation. As you know, my powers work through pheromones, but those pheromones have their limits. But with his new concoction there is no limit to my power. I can even control you, Captain America." Kilgrave holds the control the raise up the table Steve is strapped to and stands face to face with Steve.

"No way…Not going….to let you…get away with this…"

"Always so heroic," Kilgrave laughs. "You don't have any choice in the matter. You won't even know what's happening. This beautiful, little machine will make sure of that," Kilgrave taps the box on Steve's chest. "Really, what looked like an inconvenience at first is turning into quite a lovely little turn of events." Kilgrave smiles and presses the button to release the restraints. In his weakened state, the restraints were the only thing holding Steve up. He collapses to the ground, struggling to stand while his mind spins.

"Here is your chance, Captain. Try to stop me," Kilgrave laughs and turns his back on him. Steve wills himself to his feet and gracelessly rushes across the room to intercept Kilgrave. He takes a running leap at him, but his attack is blocked when a group of Kilgrave's men wrestle him to the ground. Four men struggle to pin Steve to the ground, but he is able to throw one off and into a nearby wall. One of the other men retaliates by kicking Steve in the face. Steve's vision goes black for a moment before he realizes his arms are being restrained behind his back and the three remaining men are pinning him to the ground.

"You won't…get away with this…Iron Man…Iron Man will stop you…."

"Iron Man won't have time to stop me when he's too busy trying to stop you." Kilgrave slides a finger across the screen of the small control pad he holds. More of the same powdery drug fills the mask on Steve's face. He coughs as the drug fills his lungs. "You three, gather the rest of the men and finish loading the drugs," Kilgrave orders and the men leave to load the trucks, leaving Steve motionless on the floor. Kilgrave pushes Steve with his boot onto his back before squatting next to him. He grabs Steve's face roughly and holds his gaze to his. Steve stares at the man through half-lidded eyes, one of them starting to form a dark purple bruise where he was kicked. "As for you, Captain, we have a bit of unfinished business to take care of before we go."

**OOOOOOOOO**

"Where is Steve, JARVIS?" Tony asks when he starts to search the base.

"Captain Rogers is being held four floors up on the northern side of the base. However, my sensors are detecting that the cartel is starting to transport the drugs into the loading bay."

"Cap disabled all of the trucks before he was captured."

"It seems as though they were able to repair one of the vehicles."

"Shit, we can't catch a break today, can we?" Tony weighs his options in his mind. "We stop the drugs. That's our priority. Steve and his little purple buddy will probably meet us down there anyway. Are all systems online and ready?"

"All systems are fully functioning and performing at peak levels."

"What's the team's status?"

"The rest of the Avengers ETA is 25 minutes."

"Good. We're going to need all the help we can get."

Tony flies down into the garage and he's immediately greeted with weapons fire. The bullets bounce uselessly off his armor as he starts to pick off the cartel members one by one. He's making short work of the out-gunned and out-classed cartel members until his heart sinks when he hears the all-too-familiar 'clang' of metal against rock. He turns just in time to see the shield ricocheting off the wall toward him. Tony acts out of instinct and deflects the projectile with a well-aimed repulser blast.

Steve rushes the room, catapulting himself up from the ground to the top of one of the semi-trucks before launching himself in the air. Tony turns just in time for him to catch Steve, somewhat blocking his attack. Steve doesn't let that slow him down and skillfully shifts his weight around to Tony's back. The Super Soldier wraps his arms around Tony's neck in a choke hold and he can feel the armor starting to give under the pressure. The Inventor thinks fast and flips forward, sending Steve flying down to the ground, but not before, once again, Steve lands on his feet and back flips to absorb his momentum until he lands solidly to face down Tony.

_Damn it, Steve. You're like a frickin' homicidal cat…..or basically a regular cat…_

Tony lands on the ground and faces off with Steve.

_And this, kids, is where you came into the story. Me and Steve facing off against each other. Man, I hate today. _

"No. Cap. What've they done to you?" Tony frowns when he sees the deep, purple bruise on his face and the strange contraption strapped to his chest. Steve doesn't respond. He simply stares Tony down, waiting for an order to attack. "Come on, Steve! Snap out of it!"

"He can't hear you, Iron Man," Kilgrave gloats and watches from above on a catwalk suspended over the warehouse.

"What the hell is on him?" Tony demands and points to the heavy, black mask strapped on Steve's face.

"Just a little insurance policy in case the Captain decided to fight my control again," Kilgrave smirks. "Go ahead, try to break through to him. It will do you no good."

Tony turns back to Steve. The man is staring at him like he would any common criminal he was about to kick the crap out of. "Steve, it's me. Tony. Remember? We save the world together pretty much every other week? You're super up tight and I'm loads of fun? Come on, Spangles."

For a split second, Tony sees Steve in his eyes again, but Kilgrave sees it too. He quickly swipes his finger across the panel and the purple powder fills the mask. The Super Soldier coughs and gasps, doubling over and fumbling at the device on his face before he slowly stands and stares the same deadly stare he had before.

"See? It's like a reset switch. No matter what you do or say or how hard you plead with him, he's completely under my control."

"You sick, son-of-a-bitch," Tony sneers.

"I prefer 'incredible genius," Kilgrave's mouth curves into a devious smile. More cartel members rush the room and Tony fires on them, but not before two of them make it to the cab of the truck. "Captain, if you please." He raises a hand toward Tony and Steve charges at him while the truck escapes. Tony tries to block the barrage of punches and kicks that are sent his way.

"Shit. When did you get so damn fast, Steve?"

"That would be the Jujitsu, Mixed Martial Arts, and level 10 Karate, Sir."

"Thanks for the education, JARVIS," Tony snaps at the A.I. "Cap! Listen to me! I don't want to hurt you, but I need you to stop fighting me. If you don't let me go a while shit-ton of drugs are going to hit the street. I know you don't want that to happen, so I need you to fight!" Steve hesitates for a moment before Kilgrave slides his finger across that damn control panel again and Steve stumbles and flinches as more drugs flood his system. He shakes his head and resumes his attack. He lands a kick square in Tony's chest, sending him sliding across the floor and into the wall.

Tony slumps forward for a moment before he stands and fires a repulser blast at Steve. Steve rolls out of the way, diving behind a truck for cover. Tony slowly advances, never lowering his hand in case he needs to fire suddenly. The Iron Avenger is too busy watching for Steve to attack from the left or the right of the truck that he forgets to watch above him.

Steve flies over the truck and launches himself at Tony. The Billionaire raises his arms to block what he thinks is an attack when Steve simply launches himself up and over Tony and runs. Tony turns, confused as to why Steve just jumped over him, but he finds out why when Steve retrieves his shield and the damn thing flies back at him again and strikes his left arm. Steve, who is running full boar toward him, snatches the shield out of mid-air as it ricochets back to him. He catches it and holds it in front of him and rams it into Tony. Tony blocks the attack again before he throws down a smoke bomb. The room fills with the foggy smoke and Tony runs for cover behind a pick up truck to try to assess the damage before Steve regains his bearings.

_Well that's not good. Shit, he crushed one of the main gears in my arm. Not going to be able to bend that arm for a while. _

The shield sliced through the armor so deeply that Tony's pretty sure he's bleeding.

"JARVIS," Tony whispers. "How far out are the Avengers?"

"Ten minutes and counting, Sir. I feel I should once again remind you of Captain Rogers' heightened senses, which includes hearing." Tony looks up to see Steve standing ominously over him.

"Shit," Tony rolls to the side before Steve slams his fists down, collapsing the side of the truck in on itself. "Thanks a lot for the heads up, JARVIS."

"My pleasure, Sir."

"Remind me to program sarcasm into your data banks when this is all over." Tony throws a punch at Steve and he dodges the first punch, but not the second. Tony's iron fist connects with Steve's side, but the man just returns the favor, denting the armor just below Tony's arm and pushing him back. Tony thinks fast and blasts the lights high above them on the ceiling, drowning the room in darkness and raining glass down on them. Emergency lights flicker on, but provide very little light.

Tony flips on his night vision and scans the room. He sees the familiar glow of a heat signature peeking out from behind a stack of wooden crates.

"Cap! I need you to think!" Tony pauses as he closes in. "You're stronger than Kilgrave. I know you are." Tony sneaks closer to the glow behind the boxes and quickly jumps on it, but he's thrown when he realizes that it was just a flare. It takes him a split second, but he realizes what's happening. He throws the flare and runs, but it's too late. Steve jumps out of nowhere and kicks the cargo boxes over, burying Tony.

"How the hell did he see me," Tony asks no one in particular from under the boxes.

"Heightened sight, Sir." JARVIS gladly answers his question.

Tony ignores the annoying A.I. and punches throughout the boards and tries to dig himself out, but not before Steve throws a small explosive at him. The blast launches Tony out of the pile of boxes and into the wall. He struggles to his feet while his armor sparks and gears grind.

"Sir, armor integrity is at 38% and falling. I would suggest not taking another hit like that," JARVIS reports.

"That's it! No more Mr. Nice-Iron-Man! If you're not going to come to your senses, I'm going to have to knock it back into you!" Tony blasts up off the ground and flies at Steve, tackling him around his mid-section and throwing him into the wall. Steve slams against the concrete wall before he slumps to the ground. Tony cautiously approaches him, but Steve swings his legs up and kicks Tony in the face. He follows through with his momentum and lands on his feet, grabbing Tony around his neck and lifting him up off the ground.

"Fake out! You fight dirty when you're being mind-controlled - not cool, Steve!" Tony chokes, his typical sarcastic defenses that come out when he's stressed. Tony sees that Steve is favoring his side from the impact and kicks him as hard as he can. Tony winces when he feels the other man's ribcage crack under the blow. The Soldier inhales sharply, loosening his grip on Tony enough to where he can reach out and punch the device on Steve's face. Steve releases Tony and holds his injured side painfully.

Steve slowly stands, the tubing on the mask is cracked and the box is sparking in the darkness. "Steve? Can you hear me?" Steve frowns and blinks a few times, studying the strange room as he tries to place where he is. "Steve!" Tony yells again, snapping his fingers, and gets the man's attention. "Hey, focus, Buddy." Tony holds up to fingers to his eyes.

"Tony?" Steve frowns, confused, his voice muffled through the mask.

"Yeah, it's me, Spangles," Tony sighs in relief when he sees Steve's eyes clear from his stupor.

"Tony, you have to finish this. You have to take me out."

"Steve, I won't hurt you. You can fight this."

"You have to, Tony. I can't focus. I can't stay in control." Steve holds his hand to his head and squeezes his eyes shut.

"You can do it. Just think. Fight him, Steve," Tony pleads.

"Not so fast," Kilgrave laughs from somewhere up above on the catwalk. "You're not getting off that easy." The man swipes his hand across the control panel, dosing Steve again, this time with a higher amount.

"No!" Tony shouts and launches himself up to the catwalk and finds Kilgrave hiding in the dark. He starts to close in on the little weasel, his repulsers glowing.

"I'm going to enjoy this," Tony cracks his knuckles in anticipation.

"Captain! Captain America!" Kilgrave calls out in a panic as he slowly backs away from Tony.

_Oh crap….._

_T_ony steps back when he feels the catwalk shake and Captain America's silhouette is standing between him and Purple Man. "Steve. You can fight this. Don't make me hurt you." Steve takes an aggressive step forward, his shield at the ready. Iron man powers up his repulsers and fires when Steve charges after him. Steve takes a hit in his arm and stumbles back, staring at the burn showing through his uniform before he faces Tony with an intimidating stare.

"He can't hear you, Iron Man. I told you, he's in my control. Your choices are: destroy your friend or let your friend destroy you." Kilgrave smirks from behind Steve.

"Coward," Tony sneers.

Tony fires again and Steve blocks it with his shield, but Iron Man continues to fire. The blast bounces off of the shield and Steve fights his way closer to Tony.

"JARVIS, increase power to 100%." The A.I. obeys the command and the blast intensifies. Steve staggers for a moment, but collects himself and continues to push forward.

"Peak endurance," JARVIS points out.

"Not the time, JARVIS," Tony snaps.

"Power is at 22% and falling. Sir, you cannot afford to keep this fight up for much longer"

Tony frowns. He's running out of options and Steve is still coming on strong. "JARVIS, detonate the charges."

"Sir…."

"Do it, JARVIS!"

The A.I. detonates the charges Tony placed earlier and the building shakes as multiple blasts rattle the compound. One of the nearby charges explodes, sending debris and fire through the air and destroying the catwalk they're standing on. The Purple Man retreat to another section of the catwalk, scurrying away like the little rat that he is. Tony flies up above the room and tries to grab Steve's hand, but he drops down and crashes into a large crate below.

"Cap!" Tony frantically scans the debris below.

Tony spots Steve punching his way out of the box, his fist breaking through the boards. He's limping and holding his side. As he emerges, Tony spots a sharp chunk of wood sticking out of Steve's thigh.

_Shit, Steve. It's like the splinter from hell._

Tony watches, slightly horrified, as the man looks at it for a moment before he sets his grip on the board and and begins to rip it out of his leg. His face twists in pain and he lets out a small groan, but he is able to remove the large piece of debris. The puncture starts to bleed profusely. Steve composes himself and grabs another flare from his belt, lights it, and presses it to the wound. The wound hisses and smokes and the smell of burning flesh fill the air as the flare cauterizes the bleeding gash. Steve grits his teeth and holds the flare for a few more seconds.

_Holy shit. Cap is a bad ass…Ugh, that's_ gross. Tony shakes his head and pulls himself out of his shock._ Alright, focus Tony. Hit him while he's down._

Tony flies down and tackles Steve to the ground. The soldier uses Tony's speed against him and skillfully shifts his weight, launching Tony over his head. Tony lands and skids back across the floor like Steve had before.

"You're not the only one who's a bad ass," Tony smirks and, to his surprise, he can see Steve's eyes squint up as he smirks back from behind the mask.

_That's not good…._

Tony looks down and sees a small explosive that Steve must have attached after he threw him. The explosive detonates and Tony flies to the ground.

"Armor integrity at 14%. Power at 18%. Total system failure in 13 minutes." Another blast shakes the building and the fire is spreading through the garage. "I would highly recommend exiting the building, Sir."

"Working on it!" Tony grunts when Steve relentlessly charges in again, throwing punches and kicks that Tony frantically blocks. Tony ducks to avoid a fist that narrowly misses his head. He punches at Steve's torso as hard as he can, but he's blocked by his shield. He quickly swings an upper cut into Steve's jaw, causing him to stumble back. He shakes off the hit and leaps with his shield raised toward Tony, but Iron Man blasts off the ground, intercepting and catching Steve. He flies Steve toward one of the many crumbling walls and they punch through to the other side, crashing into the snow covered ground in the chilly mountain air.

"Tony!" Natasha's voice shouts and Tony flinches at the feedback from his damaged comm-link. "We're here! Where are you?"

"Took you guys long enough! Did you do some sight seeing on your way over?" Tony pulls himself up off the ground and fires at Steve. The Soldier is slowing down and his leg has started to bleed again, staining the snow red. He dodges the blast, but just barely, and takes cover. "We're outside near the garage on the northeast side! JARVIS is sending you coordinates, although you could just follow the giant explosions. Either way, just get your asses down here! My armor is almost toast and Kilgrave is still controlling Steve!"

"We're on our way. Hang tight," Clint responds. Tony is drilled into the ground after being momentarily distracted by his conversation. He punches Steve in the face, cracking the mask slightly as the purple drug leaks out. Steve throws a punch back at Tony and he lands roughly on the icy ground. Steve jumps on him and wraps his hands around his neck, crushing the armor.

_I'm about to be killed by my best friend. In the snow. In Mexico. When I should be sipping tequila on the beach. This has somehow become my life. _

"Very good, Captain," Kilgrave smiles as he stands above Tony after he came down from his hiding spot when he saw Steve had the upper hand. "Now finish him."

"Steve," Tony gasps. "Come on! It's me! Snap out of it!" Tony swings wildly and desperately, landing a lucky hit and knocking away the damaged tubing on one side of the device and the pheromone powder pours out.

"No! What have you done!" Kilgrave starts to panic and raises the dose all the way up. The drug pumps its way into the damaged mask, half of it spilling out through the broken tubing.

"Tony….You have to finish this…." Steve winces as he fights to loosen his grip on Tony's neck.

"You can fight this, Steve," Tony pushes. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You have to….You need to stop…the truck…Keep the drugs…..off the street…" Steve releases Tony's neck, but Kilgrave jumps in immediately.

"You're not stopping me after I've come so far!" Kilgrave shouts and grabs the sides of Steve's face. The direct contact shakes Steve's control and he flinches, his whole body shaking and every muscle tensing. "Now kill him, damn it!" Steve fights against the command and blood starts to drip from his nose.

"No…." Steve squeezes his eyes closed. "Tony! Fire!" Steve orders and Tony closes his eyes and fires the uni-beam from his chest. Steve shifts to the side at the last second and Kilgrave takes the brunt of the blast. Both Steve and the Purple Man are knocked back, skidding across the snowy ground.

"Steve?" Tony calls quietly, shocked at what just happened. The steam from his breath huffs out through the air and everything slows down. The smoke from his arc reactor slowly rises up from Tony's chest and the wind feels as though it has stilled as the snow slowly glides down to the ground. Explosions continue to erupt from the building, but the blasts feel muted. Tony runs to Steve, but he feels like he's running in slow motion. He can see the steam rise from Steve's shoulder where the blast hit him. He's not getting up. He's not responding when Tony calls. He's not moving.


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry guys! I uploaded the wrong version of the ending :( This is the actual ending I revised. Sorry about that! **

**Versus - Chapter 3**

_Oh God, Steve. Don't be dead. Don't be dead. Don't be dead. _

Tony rushes over to Steve's lifeless body. He's landed on his side and is slightly curled in on himself with his arms resting in front of his face. Steam rises from his burned shoulder and Tony holds Steve's slack face in his iron gloves and gently shakes him. "Steve. Steve, wake up. Please wake up. I'm so sorry."

The Quinjet lands a short distance away and the Avengers rush onto the scene. They're ready to fight, but instead they're shocked at the incredible damage done to the compound in front of them. It's a wonder there's anything still standing… or kind of standing.

"So much for 'covert'," Clint snaps and rushes over while the other Avengers secure the area. "What the hell is that?" Clint frowns when he sees the box attached to Steve spark as it starts to rapidly pump the drug through it's damaged circuit.

"Shit. Kind of a long story," Tony grumbles as he tries to turn the machine off. Another blast from the base sends a huge fireball into the sky and rains fiery chunks of debris down on them. Tony leans over Steve to shield him from the spay of debris when Steve jerks awake. His mind is confused as the drug continues to pump into his system and he's still lost in the battle. He acts out of instinct, kicking Tony off of him and sending him skipping across the snowy ground and over the edge of a steep drop off. Tony grabs onto the ledge and hangs on for dear life while Steve scrambles away from the two Avengers.

"JARVIS, fire the thrusters," Tony strains as his fingers start to slide off the icy ledge. He tries to pull himself up, but the damaged gears in his arm prevent him from climbing.

"Thrusters were damaged in the battle, Sir. Power is at 7% and falling."

"Not an acceptable answer, JARVIS," Tony shouts. "Could use a little help, Clint!" Hawkeye is torn on pursuing Steve or helping Tony, but he rushes over and grabs onto Tony's arm and uses all of his strength to haul the man and his very heavy armor up and over the edge of the cliff.

"Where's Steve?" Tony pants after rolling over the ledge and laying on his back.

"Don't know," Clint answers breathlessly. "I was too busy saving your heavy, iron ass."

"Steve!" Tony shouts through the now blizzarding snow. The two Avengers split up and search the grounds and Tony finds Steve near the Quinjet. Steve is on his knees and grasping at the mask on his face, trying frantically to remove it. "Cap!" Tony rushes over. Steve stumbles to his feet and holds his shield up defensively. He's hyperventilating, trying desperately to draw in air through the damaged machine on his face. He slowly backs up when he sees Tony approaching, confusion and delirium reflecting in his eyes.

"Easy, Buddy," Tony holds his hands in front of him, trying to communicate that he's not a threat. "Steve, let me help you." Tony cautiously and slowly approaches Steve. Clint starts to come up behind him and Steve swings his eyes over to the approaching archer. Tony signals him to stop. "Hang back, Hawk. Steve's out of it and this thing is still pumping out Kilgrave's drug. I've got to get it off of him so I can shut it off.

"Use this," Clint backs up and shoots an arrow that lodges itself in the ground near Tony.

"Just take it easy, Steve. Alright?" Tony keeps his hand in front of him as he slowly kneels to pulls the arrow from the frozen ground. "Steve, look at me," Steve watches Tony suspiciously and keeps his shield close. "Do you recognize me? Do you know who I am?"

"…Tony…," Steve pants through the machine.

"Right. I'm your friend and I need you to trust me right now so I can help you. Do you trust me?" Tony is standing only a few feet from Steve when he collapses down to his knees, wheezing and desperately trying to pull in oxygen. Steve stares at him with panicked blue eyes, but slowly nods. Tony cautiously approaches and kneels in front of Steve. The billionaire slowly guides Steve's face to the side and carefully works the arrow head under the strap of the mask. He cuts the mask free, but it's still stuck. "Stay with me, Steve," Tony pleads when Steve starts to cough and his breathing becomes more and more labored. He starts to cut the strap holding the box to Steve's chest when the Soldier collapses onto his side. He almost can't get his finger under the strap it's pulled so tight around Steve's chest. He finally manages to cut the device free and Tony tosses it aside in disgust.

Steve coughs and gasps in air desperately. "Stay awake, Steve," Tony slaps his face lightly when Steve's eyes roll back.

"We gotta get him in the jet," Clint runs to Tony's side now that the danger of Kilgrave's drug is gone.

"Steve, I need you to get up. My armor is too damaged to carry you," Tony grabs Steve's arm and tries to pull him up. "Come on, Spangles. I need you to help me," Tony pleads and Steve tries to stand, but leans heavily on Tony.

"Stark," Natasha comes running up. "We've got all the cartel members we could find. What's your status?"

"We need Thor!" Tony shouts as he struggles to get Steve to the jet. Thor comes running up and frowns when he sees the state of his friends. "We need you to help us get Steve in the jet." Thor nods and gently takes Steve from Tony.

"Be still, Captain," Thor calms Steve when he jerks away. "You are among friends. You need not fear any longer." Thor carries Steve to the jet. His face is pale under the bruises, blood and dirt. His upper shoulder took the brunt of the blast and the areas where the suit has burned away reveal angry, scorched tissue.

"Grab that piece of shit too," Tony points to the heap on the ground that is what's left of Kilgrave. Natasha and Hulk work on securing the cartel members while Clint drags Kilgrave into the brig.

Thor sets Steve down on the medical bay bed on the jet. "There's a truck that left here heading north about thirty-five minutes ago," Tony instructs Thor as he immediately gets oxygen flowing for Steve. "It's transporting the drug that Kilgrave used to control Steve. Don't touch it. Don't inhale it. Take Hulk and stop them before they make it across the boarder."

"They will not make it much farther," Thor promises and rushes out to find Hulk.

Tony pulls off this helmet and starts to stabilize his friend. He starts to cut the thick body armor from Steve's torso and carefully pulls the armor away to reveal a mix of purple, black, and blue bruises scattered across Steve's body. Tony winces when he sees the deep purple bruise on the side of his ribcage that is partially in the shape of the Iron Man armor's boot and his fist. The worst of the damage is on Steve's shoulder where the uni-beam hit. His shoulder and arm are badly burned and the surrounding tissue on his side, back, chest, and neck are red and angry.

"Purple man is contained," Clint reports and walks over to Tony to assist him. He pulls out the leads from the on-board monitor and starts to hook Steve up while Tony goes to work on cleaning up the puncture on Steve's leg. "What the hell happened down there?"

"Kilgrave synthesized a concentrated form of the mind-control pheromone he secretes and figured out how to mix it with some kind of narcotic," Tony frowns when he cuts away the fabric around the puncture in Steve's leg. The jagged edges on the board have done some serious damage and the wound won't stop bleeding. Tony pulls out the larger chunks and splinters and wraps it tightly. "He dosed Steve with some of it when we first discovered Kilgrave."

"Bastard," Clint whispers under his breath.

"I was able to damage it enough to where Steve could regain some control for a moment or two. He was able to hold it together long enough for me to get a shot in. That's how this happened," Tony gently wipes away the blood and sweat away from Steve's shoulder when the man starts to stir slightly. His breathing starts to quicken and his head lolls from side to side while he mumbles something Tony can't quite make out. Steve suddenly starts to panic and fumbles at the oxygen mask on his face..

"Hey, take it easy Spangles," Tony whispers and pulls Steve's hands away. "It's only oxygen. Kilgrave's machine is off. It's off."

"Tony?" Steve pants and settles a little. His eyes are still closed, trapped somewhere between consciousness and dream.

"It's me, Steve," Tony answers and continues to wipe away the dirt and blood from Steve's shoulder.

"Tony…." Steve mumbles again. "Tony…y-you have to…have to finish it." Steve groans, still trapped in his delirium.

"Steve. It's over. We beat him," Tony lays a hand over Steve's forehead. He's warm, but no fever.

"That son-of-a-bitch better pray he dies from his injuries before I get to him," Clint threatens.

"Yeah?" Tony snorts. "Get in line."

Despite Tony's assurances, Steve continues to become more and more agitated, panting and mumbling while he sweats and writhes against unseen hands and voices. Clint does his best to calm him and hold him still while Tony works on treating his injuries.

"Steve. Steve, wake up," Tony finally holds Steve's face in his hands and he blearily opens his eyes. "Look at me, Steve. You're out. You're safe. He doesn't control you anymore. Understand?" His voice is firm and grounding. Steve's delirious, blue eyes search Tony's before he slowly nods and calms.

"W-where are we?" Steve pants and searches the room with his half-lidded eyes.

"On the Quinjet." Tony answers.

"What happened?"

"Not important right now," Tony keeps his answer short, not wanting to get into details right now with Steve.

"Are you…are you hurt?" Steve lifts a shaky hand to inspect the broken armor on Tony's arm.

"I'm fine. Just take it easy," Tony pushes his hand back down to the bed and continues to wipe away the dirt from Steve's shoulder. Steve groans and tries to curl in on his arm as Tony starts to clean the more badly burned area.

"Shhhh," Tony calms and pushes Steve back down. "Almost done, Spangles."

"D-did you j-just shush me?" A weakened version of Steve's 'I'm so funny' smirk mixes with a wince as his body shivers.

Tony huffs out a laugh "I did. Now shut up. You need to rest."

"H-hey, Clint," Steve mumbles with tired eyes when he notices Clint standing to the side.

"Hey, Cap," Clint offers a weak smile.

"Steve," Tony frowns. Rest. Now."

"W-where's the rest of the team?" Steve asks while watching Tony clean his shoulder.

"Shush," Tony orders. "God, you're a chatty when you're drugged up."

"Tony…."

"Shush," Tony continues to ignore him.

"C-can't believe y-you're still s-shushing me…" Steve's blinks begin to get longer and longer as exhaustion begins to take over.

"I am shushing you. Maybe you should listen and shush." Tony begins to wipe away the soot from Steve's neck.

"L-listen to _y-you_?" Steve huffs as his eyes begin to slide shut.

"Yeah, it's a wild concept. You should try it," Tony smirks.

"No thanks. Sounds like a good way to get into trouble," Steve mumbles before he finally drifts off into an uneasy sleep.

"Hey, we got the truck back." Bruce pokes his head in the door. "Thor decided to…" A loud explosion shakes the Quinjet before Bruce can finish his sentence. "…throw it on the fire to destroy the drugs…How's Steve?" Bruce walks into the room. His pants are tattered and he's wearing a sweater he probably 'borrowed' from one of the Cartel members because it's entirely too baggy and not something Bruce would ever wear.

"Stable and finally resting," Tony reports.

"What about you?" Bruce asks as he looks Tony's suit up and down. "Steve really did a number on you, didn't he?"

"Well, neither one of us got away injury free," Tony raises a brow and nods as he looks down at his armor for the first time since the battle. There's not a square inch that doesn't have some sort of deep scratch. dent or scorch mark. His chest plate is dented on the side in the shape of Steve's fist and his arm has a gash from when Steve hit him with his shield that's so deep it exposes his arm under the armor. He still can't bend his arm that Steve damaged the gears in. All of this combined with the explosives that Steve planted on him, the armor is pretty much totaled.

"Clint's got Steve covered," Bruce looks over to Clint and the Archer gives him a nod. "You need to get looked at."

Tony reluctantly follows Bruce to the other side of the bay. "Are you going to be able to get out of the suit?"

"Hopefully," Tony walks over to one of the panels on the wall and it opens up and the gears on the armor starts to grind and spark when mechanical arms reach out to dismantle the suit. All the pieces come off, even with the damaged gears, except for the pieces that cover his arm. Tony hits it a few times on the table to try to get it to respond, but the armor is thoroughly stuck. "Well, most of it came off." Tony looks up and sighs when he sees that the armor is so trashed that it won't even flow into the wall where it's stored. Instead it's sparking and stuck outside of the wall.

Bruce raises a brow at Tony and starts to look him over, focusing on a nasty cut on his arm under the armor. "Can you get it off?"

Tony studies the armor and frowns. "I think I can. Hand me that screwdriver." Bruce hands it to him and Tony starts to work on releasing his arm.

"You're lucky you were wearing your armor," Bruce points out as he looks at the armor that's sticking out of the wall. He looks closely at some of the damage, but quickly pulls away when another spark flies out from somewhere.

"Got it!" Tony announces triumphantly a short time later and the armor pops open and falls to the ground.

"You're going to need stitches," Bruce frowns as he inspects the laceration. He grabs some supplies out of the cabinets and gets to work.

"Ow," Tony complains. "Ow…ow..ow…ow, ow, ow….OW! Cut it out!" Tony pushes Bruce's hands away.

"Quit being such a baby," Bruce gives Tony a look as he places the last stitch. "You don't even have any broken bones, but you do have a concussion and some pretty bad cuts and bruises."

"Probably when Steve blew me up…the first time." Tony studies the stitches running across his arm.

"He blew you up?" Bruce's eyes widen.

"Twice," Tony huffs. "Be he didn't exactly get away unscathed either," Tony frowns while he watches Steve from across the room.

"You two are never allowed to go on mission together by yourselves again. Ever." Bruce places some butterfly tape over a cut on Tony's brow.

"You're no fun," Tony mock-frowns. Bruce is about to reprimand him when Clint walks over.

"Hey, Steve is resting and seems stable enough. Thor and Widow are taking care of our 'guests' in the brig. They were asking for you to come help them out with stabilizing Purple Man, Bruce." Clint reports and Bruce nods.

"You," Bruce turns and points to Tony. "Get some rest. I'll be back to check on both of you soon." The men leave, Bruce to the brig and Clint to the cockpit to fly them out of this frozen, beachless, hell-hole, and Tony lays down on the uncomfortable bed in the small sick bay. Bruce flips off the light as he exits the bay, leaving only the dim, emergency lights on.

Tony lays on his back and stares up at the ceiling. The room is completely still and quiet, save for the quiet beeps coming from across the room where Steve is sound asleep. Tony can tell by the slow, rhythmic rise and fall of his chest in the low lights. He watches him for a moment, remembering the chaos of the day and how lucky they both are to be alive right now.

Tony drifts in and out of a light sleep, but can't fully fall asleep in the uncomfortable medical bay bed. He finally can't take it anymore. Tony swings his legs out of the bed, but pauses when his sore muscles protest. After resting and letting his body settle he realizes how achy he is from the fight. He shuffles across the room and grabs a cushioned chair sitting near the entrance of the bay. He pushes it across the room, but stumbles when the chair crashes into the edge of a metal cabinet he didn't see in the low lights. He grunts and groans when the sudden collision causes the chair to gut punch him in his sore belly.

After he takes a moment to recover he continues to make his way across the room with his chair, that is now screeching across the tiled floor because one of the little legs was bent from the collision. He shoves it next to Steve's bedside and plops down in the chair. After a few moments he gets up to get a blanket and shuffles his way back to the dented metal cabinet he crashed into earlier and pulls on the door, but the door is stuck. He pulls again, but it doesn't budge. Frustrated, he jerks the door open and the metal screeches and rumbles as the door pulls free. Satisfied that he got the door open, Tony grabs a blanket off the shelf and shuffles back to the chair. He gingerly eases his creaky body into the soft chair, grunting and groaning as he lowers himself to the cushion.

The chair taps the floor as it rocks from side to side because of the bent leg and Tony groans in frustration. He stands up again and grabs a wad of gauze from one of the jars on the counter and shoves it under the bent leg to even out the chair.

"Are you always this loud?" Steve mumbles from his bed, his voice rough from sleep.

"Have you met me?" Tony huffs.

"Good point," Steve runs a hand down his face, but flinches when his shoulder sharply protests. "What happened?" He asks as he hazily looks at his shoulder.

"Mission wasn't quite a covert as we wanted it to be," Tony finally settles into the chair and kicks his feet up on Steve's bed.

"Yeah, I gathered that much," Steve waits for more of an explanation.

"Purple Man got to you," Tony answers quietly

"Did I do that to you?" Steve frowns and points to Tony's arm.

"Yeah, but I did that to you," Tony points to Steve's bandaged shoulder. "For a simple intel mission, this Mexico trip sucked."

"Tell me about it," Steve winces when his broken ribs grind when he shifts. He looks down to his side and notices the deep, purple bruise. "Is that your boot print?"

"I may have….had to…kick you…and punch you," Tony mumbles and Steve is surprised to see a bit of shame cross his face.

"Don't worry about it, Tony," Steve smirks. "I'm just glad I didn't kill you."

"You? Kill me?" Tony raises a brow.

"Yeah. We all know that I'm the better fighter. If we had a face off it's a miracle you're still alive right now."

_God, there's that stupid 'I'm funny' smirk again. _

_ "_You're not the better fighter. I'm pretty sure my armor and I beat you today."

"You mean that armor?" Steve points to the suit that's still stuck outside of the wall as another spark flies out of it. "I dunno. It kind of looks like I kicked your tail today."

"I'm more in one piece than you are, Spangles."

"I was holding back."

"That's bullshit," Tony gives Steve a smug smile. "Besides, I'm not the one laid up in the hospital bed right now."

"Who's laid up?" Steve shoots back and slowly pushes himself up to a sitting position.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Not being laid up," Steve grunts and doubles over a little, wrapping his arm around his injured ribs.

"Are you seriously trying to get up right now to just make a point?"

"….No…." Steve groans.

"God, you're a stubborn, old man," Tony sighs.

"Not stubborn," Steve winces. After he lets his body settle for a moment he wills himself to stand and nearly falls over.

"Seriously Steve? What the hell are you doing?" Tony quickly stands and catches Steve.

"I gotta hit the head," Steve steadies himself on the wall.

"Steve, get back in the bed. There's the pan thing-y right here," Tony holds up the plastic bed pan. "You're what? Ninty-something-years-old? There's no shame."

"I'm _not_ using that thing," Steve frowns.

"Not stubborn, my ass," Tony mumbles and rolls his eyes. "Fine, let me help you."

"I don't need help going to the bathroom, Tony," Steve insists as he stumbles and limps his way to the bathroom. Tony raises his hands in the air and gives up. Steve returns a few minutes later.

"Now where are you going?" Tony turns around in his chair when Steve hobbles past the bed and into the hall. Ignoring Tony, he opens a hatch and returns with two beer bottles in his hand. He pops the cap off and hands it to the Inventor.

"As promised," Steve shuffles to the trash can and throws the caps away. "The best brew in Brooklyn." He raises his bottle and Tony does the same.

"That is good," Tony sighs after taking a drink.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Bruce asks from the doorway and flipping on the light. Steve flinches with the sudden change in brightness.

"Uh-oh. Busted," Tony chugs the beer down.

"Beer is the last thing you two should be drinking right now. And you, why are you out of bed?"

"I had to go to the bathroom," Steve frowns when Bruce takes away his beer before he even got to take a sip. Tony chugs the rest of his bottle down before Bruce is able to snatch it away.

"You," he points to Tony. "No more beer."

"Steve gave it to me," Tony pouts and Steve shoots him a look.

"And you," Bruce points to Steve. "Get back in bed." Steve limps back to the bed and gingerly sits down. "All the way in," Bruce orders and Steve sighs before painfully laying his sore body back down. "Both of you, stay put. I will be back to check on you soon," he threatens and flips off the lights.

"Ma'ma Bruce yelled at you," Tony laughs. "Ouch! What the hell, Steve?" Tony frowns and rubs his leg where Steve punched him.

"That's for ratting me out on the beer," Steve smirks and flinches at the same time. His bandage scraped across his burned shoulder when he punched Tony, but it was worth it.

"God forbid Captain America gets in trouble," Tony mocks.

"Damn straight," Steve replies.

"Did you just swear?" Tony stares at him in disbelief.

"You shot me and tattled on me all in the same day. I have every right to swear at you." Steve mumbles

"Swearing? Drinking beer? Sneaking out of bed? Who are you?!"

"Tony?"

"Yeah, Steve?"

"Shush."

**Hope you guys enjoyed this shorter story! I've got a couple more cute/funny ideas in the works since this story and "Don't Wake Me" were both kind of dark and angst-y. I'll be posting soon, so keep an eye open for new stories! Thanks so much for reading! **


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